Keep my children well

Keep my children well

By:Aparna Das  Date: 5.3.2018

Shankar Das, age 70, height  5''6 Gray color, resident of Gangrai village of south 24 Parganas district in West Bengal.  A sick man.  Can not move, poor, lame. In a year, his feet has become inefficient, the hands  condition also poor , can not eat properly from the dish. Shankar Das was a permanent worker for more than 50 years in a fishery firm. By the time when he worked for the fishery his family could go well with childrens, wife and parents of Sankar Das. There are four sons , have no daughter. So that will no need savings money for the girl's marriage. So every month whatever sankar das have earned that by continuing in the family, boys took money from their dad like their own needs. Everything was going well but the problem started when Shankar Babu left the job. After retirement, he got a little money. One day talking with the son and their wives Sankar Das's wife suddenly said about the money on the face of the daughter in-law’s. After listening about  the money from the mother in-law's face, the boys and their wives  did not sleep in the night. From then on, they started plotting how old father's money was handled. By showing various reasons, they took the entire money from their dad .Thus, within several months all the money was over. The four sons do not live with their parents, they are all separated with their  family.  After all the circumstances the old father thought he would cultivate a little land and cultivate the fish in his own pond. But where is it ? One of the boy said, "Baba, we will cultivate that land, we do not know how to run your family. Seeing such brutal behavior of boys, the sky fell on the head of Shankar Das. After seeing the whole incident, the wife of Sankar Das started crying.  Meanwhile, Sankar Babu became very sick. There is no fuss in the house, there is no rice, how will we two live? For the sake of supplying food for two lives and for the treatment of Shankar Babu, his aged wife started selling fish . After feeding her sick husband, the family of Shankar Das, who was preparing for the whole work for family and rushing out in the early morning with a pot on her head. One day, in the absence of her Shankar Babu’s  head fell unconscious in front of his house. Sankar Babu survived the accident with the help of some good people in the neighborhood. After the incident four boys blamed that all things happened because of their mother’s carelessness . One of them asked to their mom, who told you to work? You can take care of your husband in the home. On hearing this, the aged mother said to the boy, 'How can I run out of the house if I do not ? You then make arrangements for two of us. As soon as they heard the words from the mother's mouth, one boy and another daughter in law said, "We can not take any responsibility. What did father do for us all his life?  We have family’’. After listening to these Sankarbabu became more ill. Life goes on in between, Shankarabu's wife requested the boys to give something, but the boys did not say in a sentence . Without getting any ways, the old woman decided to sell her wedding jewelry and treat her husband. But in spite of this, the boys stuck selling their mother’s jewelry again. They said those jewelry are now our property. Sankar Das's wife seeks rupees for food like a mad women for help of her husband, asking for help in front of everyone despite having 4 capable boys. Last month, Sundori Das wife of Sankarbabu sold her husband's gold button and took her husband to the doctor. That day there was another problem arised, after the doctor was shown, during the purchase of medicines she had no enough money. Then what to do? Thinking of this Sundori Das bought little medicine to remove the tears and went home. Back home that afternoon Sundari Das has cried a lot for help in front of the village panchayat chief but there was no work. Relatives also have turned away .The medicine has run out of a long time. Gradually Sankar Babu’s  body is moving towards worse condition . During the bad time Sundari Das is completely broken physically and mentally both sides. In a word, she lost faith in life. Always fluttering in her mind and praying to God, ‘take me along with my husband. take care of my four children and their family , keep them healthy, just take us two’.